This Baked Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip is definitely for cheese lovers. It’s ooey, gooey, cheesy, sweet and tangy, and so easy to make ahead. You have officially found the best holiday dip recipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

I find it important to have a couple of really special gourmet style appetizers to make during the holidays season. Cranberry appetizers always seem to be my some of my favorites to offer or take to a party. In the past I have served my cold Jalapeño Cranberry Dip. It’s a crowd pleaser. But, nothing beats a hot dip with gooey cheese like this recipe for Baked Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip.
Another GREAT Hot dip for you to consider for the holidays is my Hot Spinach Dip.

Baked Cream Cheese Cranberry Dip is so easy to make. You will mix the 4 ingredients in a bowl, add the mixture to a baking dish and then toss it in to the oven to bake. Easy peasy. It can even be made ahead of time which helps during the busy holiday season. Go ahead and use my 3 Ingredient Cranberry Sauce recipe for this cranberry dip recipe. Store-bought canned cranberry sauce can be used too.

Cranberry Dip with Cream Cheese has a creamy texture, sweet and tangy flavors from the white cheddar cheese. You can make it with or without jalapeños. I have made it both ways and they are equally delicious.

If you are wondering what to serve with our Cranberry Dip, I typically add pita crackers, Wheat Thins, Ritz, vegetables like celery and carrots, Homemade Parmesan Crostini, and store-bought appetizers toasts. Go ahead and use your favorite dippers. This dip can be complimented with just about anything you choose.

Baked Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip Ingredients

This Cranberry Dip ends up being so tasty even though it uses just 4 ingredients total. Our recipe is also a great way to use up any leftover cranberry sauce or cheese you have sitting left from entertaining. Just in case you’re missing anything, here’s the short ingredients list you can look through:

• Cream Cheese – Let your cream cheese soften at room temperature for best results. If you’re in a rush, you can try carefully warming cream cheese in the microwave, but results may vary.
• Cheddar Cheese – Get yourself a nice sharp cheddar here, it will add the tangy and deep flavor. We went with this Vermont Sharp Cheddar from Cabot, but feel free to use your favorite sharp cheddar cheese. For color, we prefer a white cheddar of some kind. Please purchase a block of cheese not the pre-shredded bagged cheese (it is full of anti-caking additives so it does not melt as well).
• Cranberry Sauce – For the quickest and easiest cranberry dip, just go with canned cranberry sauce here. On the other hand, whip up some of our homemade 3 Ingredient Cranberry Sauce for a fresher, richer, tastier Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip.
• Cranberries – We used fresh cranberries here, though frozen cranberries should work in a pinch.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

Since our Cream Cheese Cranberry dip recipe only uses a few ingredients, it shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s easy to make too! Just throw all the ingredients together in a bowl, mix them up, then bake in the oven. For a visual guide, follow along with our step-by-step recipe below:

• Start by adding softened cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Use a hand or stand mixer to whip cream cheese until fluffy.

• Measure out about 1-3/4 cups of shredded cheese and add to the bowl. Use a rubber spatula to fold and mix shredded cheddar cheese together with the fluffy cream cheese.

• Next add cranberry sauce and whole cranberries to the cheese mixture. Stir everything together until you’ve got a consistent cheese and cranberry dip.

• Grab a small baking dish (my dish was 6×9) and lightly grease the sides. Spoon cream cheese cranberry mix into the prepped baking dish with a rubber spatula. Smooth and spread mixture to fill the dish evenly if needed.

• Before baking, sprinkle cheese on top of the cream cheese dip for an extra melty and crispy cheese topping.

• Transfer baking dish with cranberry dip to an awaiting 375 degree oven. Let bake for 30-35 minutes or until dip becomes bubbly. Move baking dish to top rack and brown top under broiler for a few minutes before pulling from the oven and enjoying.

Storage / Freezing

Storage: This Baked Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip should hold up decently enough in the fridge after cooking. Let cool completely before transferring to an airtight container or covering tightly with plastic wrap and/or foil. Keep in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheat in the oven for best results.

Freezing: This dip might have some problems with the freezer. Frozen cream cheese and shredded cheese can suffer from some textural problems and become grainy the longer they’ve been in the freezer- it might be better to freeze your dip before baking instead of after. If freezing dip, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil before keeping frozen for up to 2 months for best taste and texture- consider adding a spoon of heavy or sour cream to improve texture when reheating.

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